Epitaxial UN and $Î±$-U$_2$N$_3$ Thin Films

E. Lawrence Bright; S. Rennie; M. Cattelan; N. A. Fox; D. T. Goddard; R. Springell

paper

Epitaxial UN and $I^\pm$ -U $_{2}$ N $_{3}$ Thin Films

arXiv:1803.02226

Abstract

Single crystal epitaxial thin films of UN and U $_{2}$ N $_{3}$ have been grown for the first time by reactive DC magnetron sputtering. These films provide ideal samples for fundamental research into the potential accident tolerant fuel, UN, and U $_{2}$ N $_{3}$ , its intermediate oxidation product. Films were characterised using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), with XRD analysis showing both thin films to be [001] oriented and composed of a single domain. The specular lattice parameters of the UN and U $_{2}$ N $_{3}$ films were found to be 4.895\,Ã and 10.72\,Ã , respectively, with the UN film having a miscut of 2.6\, $^{\circ}$ . XPS showed significant differences in the N-1s peak between the two films, with area analysis showing both films to be stoichiometric.

7 pages, 11 figures

Epitaxial UN and I^±-U2​N3​ Thin Films

Abstract

Epitaxial UN and $I^\pm$ -U $_{2}$ N $_{3}$ Thin Films